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Untitled Sam Cooke Biopic

Status: In Development (Script as of 4/2/14)Release Date: TBAGenre: BiographyRating: Not AvailableStudio: ABKCO FilmsDirector: Carl FranklinCast:TBA

Details: According to an article published by The Playlist on March 27, 2013, in 2011 a biopic on soul music legend Sam Cooke was announced, with veteran British writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais having delivered a screenplay to ABKCO, the record company which owns most of Cooke’s output. It was reported that ABKCO was independently producing the project based on the book Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke by Peter Guralnick, but not much has been heard since. Carl Franklin (One False Move, Devil in a Blue Dress, House of Cards) is now attached to direct the film.

Best known for songs like “A Change Is Gonna Come,” “You Send Me” and “Chain Gang” among many others, Cooke topped the U.S. music charts during the late 1950s and early 1960s. On December 11, 1964, at the age of 33, Cooke was tragically killed, shot by a hotel manager in an incident that’s still surrounded by mystery and controversy.

Mark Ciardi, Gordon Gray, and Jody Klein are producing the film. The official description of the movie:

This is the true story of the legendary singer/songwriter Sam Cooke, who started out as a Gospel singer and horrified his fellow musicians when he crossed over into pop music. Enormously successful, Sam was less happy in his personal life, since his relentless womanizing and touring schedule alienated his troubled wife Barbara, in a marriage that went into a downward spiral after the tragic death of their baby son.

The hunt is on to find someone to fill the very large shoes of Cooke, but there is no set start date just yet. Source(s): The Playlist, Shadow & Act,Wikipedia.